Sporadic showers forced the final to Monday night, when Nadal strong-armed Djokovic with a splash of style, sealing his status as a champion for the ages. Following three competitive sets, the muscular Mallorcan put the hammer down in the fourth to collect his ninth career major championship and become the first Spanish man to win the U.S. Open since Manuel Orantes in 1975.
The win also meant that, at the age of 24 years and 101 days, Nadal became just the seventh man in history to complete the career Grand Slam, the third youngest to do after Don Budge (22 years, 357 days) and Rod Laver (24 years, 32 days). It was the first time a man won Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open in succession since Laver did so in 1969.
Nadal’s penetrating first serve, his willingness to strike down the line with both the forehand and backhand, and his creative approach to problem solving helped him conquer Flushing Meadows, the urban, Deco Turf jungle once regarded as too fast for his topspin-heavy game.
A year earlier, Nadal, bothered by a strained abdominal muscle, suffered one of the worst beatings in his Grand Slam career in a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 mauling at the hands of Juan Martin del Potro that resembled a hard-court mugging. Two months later at the ATP World Tour Finals, Nadal didn't win a single set in losses to Robin Soderling, Nikolay Davydenko, and Djokovic. But his victory on a New York City night culminated his finest overall season, made him a master of all surfaces, and left an admiring Djokovic declaring Nadal a tennis immortal.
“He has the capabilities already now to become the best player ever,” Djokovic said after the match. “I think he’s playing the best tennis that I ever have seen him play on hard courts. He has improved his serve drastically. The speed, the accuracy and of course his baseline play is as good as ever. So he’s a very complete player.”
No. 5: 2010 U.S. Open Final
No. 4: 2011 U.S. Open Final
No. 3: 2011 Miami Final
No. 2: 2009 Madrid Semifinal
No. 1: 2012 Australian Open Final<strong><em>*</em><em>*</em></strong>
